Despite the country’s best efforts to curb opioid prescriptions in America, a new analysis suggests Americans still dramatically overuse the medications. Researchers analyzed counties across the country based on the average amount of opioid prescriptions per person in order to reach their results. The opioids were measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs), which accounts for the fact that different dosages or medications vary depending on the person. Rural areas of the country, in particular, saw higher amounts of MMEs per person than bigger cities. Despite the overall increase in the medications since 1999, the report did find prescriptions dropped nearly 20 percent between 2010 and 2015.

Source: Huffington Post July 07, 2017 19:41 UTC